The overall objective of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit (CNRU) is to provide an environment that fosters interdisciplinary collaborations between basic and clinical nutrition scientists to promote excellence in research and thereby to strengthen the role of clinical nutrition in academic medicine. The CNRU encompasses three major research themes: 1. nutrition and diseases (AIDS, alcoholism, aging disorders, diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory disease, intestinal diseases and metabolism, and nutrition support of medical and surgical illness), 2. energy intake and metabolism (obesity, eating disorders), and 3. nutrition and development (perinatal development, infant nutrition, and extracellular matrix disorders). The CNRU has six specific aims: 1. to provide Core Laboratories to facilitate collaborative research, including a) Clinical Nutrition Support (with Intestinal Absorption & Nutrient Balance, Vitamin & Mineral, and Lipoprotein Subcores), b) Metabolism (with Stable Isotope Subcore), c) Animal Models, d) Molecular & Cell Biology, and e) Administration; 2. to implement a Pilot & Feasibility Program and New Investigator Award to encourage young investigators and new approaches in clinical nutrition; 3. to carry out an enrichment program, including weekly in-depth scientific seminars and annual visiting professors; 4. to provide research training for postdoctoral PhDs and postgraduate MDs, thereby increasing the viability of clinical nutrition as a career choice and expanding the number of academic nutritionists; 5. to strengthen existing nutrition support services by providing essential laboratory services, thereby increasing opportunities for clinical investigations of hospitalized patients; and 6. to disseminate nutrient information to health professionals and the public.